Chapter 13 Ryu Murakami, Haruki Murakami

After reading "Approximately Infinite Transparent Blue" by Ryu Murakami, I noticed that the translator of this novel, Zhu Jiarong, had also translated Bian Junyi's best-selling book.This is a very interesting phenomenon. In our country, popular literary and artistic works are often mixed with serious things.In this era, even Jin Yong's martial arts novels can be regarded as classics, what else can't be reversed.However, in the eyes of Westerners, Alexandre Dumas' "Three Musketeers" and Sariel's "story" are just "stories" for entertainment after dinner. It is possible to write "The Bridge of Madison County" and "The Bridge of Madison County" into the history of literature textbooks.

The reason why Haruki Murakami is praised by our readers is the following two reasons: Like Borges, Calvino and Duras, they are all regarded as a popular cultural code, talking about their avant-garde with showing off style Trendy; the background of the 1960s described is very similar to today's college campuses. The hippie spirit, decadent youth and erratic love make those college students who have nothing to worry about feel a sense of identity.Today, the discussion boards, posts and impromptu readings about Haruki Murakami on the Internet are like flies flying all over the sky, buzzing non-stop, but because of the lack of in-depth analysis, they appear empty and empty.Just like the popularity of "A Chinese Journey to the West", "In the Mood for Love" and Luo Dayou's songs, it can only show that we are infected with a nostalgic and sad era disease.If you think about it, Haruki Murakami is undoubtedly a terrible carrier of germs.

In terms of fame and awards, there is not much difference between the two Murakamis. Ryu Murakami published "Approximately Infinite Transparent Blue" at the age of 24, describing the degenerate life of a group of young people who are addicted to drug abuse, promiscuity, racing and alcoholism. This created the "transparent family" genre in Japanese literary circles, and won the "Akutagawa Award" and "Group Portrait Newcomer Literature Award" in one fell swoop, which can be described as a success at a young age; It was not until 1985 that he won the Tanizaki Junichiro Novel Award for his book "The End of the World and Grim Wonderland". The novel continues the "dual opposition" narrative mode, which can never escape the background of science fiction, grotesque, lonely and decadent.

The two Murakami are more like the illegitimate children of contemporary American literature. Their age difference is 4 years, but they both grew up in the background of hippie culture in the 1960s.In terms of personal temperament, Ryu Murakami is more courageous to practice himself, has participated in student movements, and has made many films; Haruki Murakami seems to be more restrained and reclusive, and has always been outside various circles and social occasions in the novel world. law.In terms of the style of the works, Ryu Murakami is close to the bold and bold Mailer, and Haruki Murakami is close to the delicate and feminine Capote.Mailer and Capote were "non-fiction" novelists who were well-known throughout the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. It can be considered that Ryu Murakami and Haruki Murakami are their oriental counterparts, and they are the most popular serious writers in Japan since the 1980s.

In terms of personal feelings, I prefer Haruki Murakami, especially in such a situation: late at night, the rain outside the window is weaving obliquely, lying on a single bed listening to music, it is the Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", countless The familiar melody floats repeatedly, which always makes people feel sluggish, excited and inexplicably sad.Many years ago, there was also a Japanese man who loved traveling and marathon running. He hid alone in a noisy tavern, playing the song "Lonely Heart" on a miniature phonograph while writing his own.

But as you grow older, when you are no longer a sad boy, no longer a girl who "goes on a spring tour with apricot blossoms blowing her head", Ryu Murakami's works may be more appetizing.In the novel "IBIZA", the combination of the naked appeal to the description of desire and the constant questioning of "who am I?" will drive people crazy. IBIZA, an island not far from Barcelona, ​​is like a dark call. Ryu Murakami awakened us who have been in a coma for a long time with his pen tip that destroys everything: "Drugs, religion, art, sex (even hallucinations), They all exist to avoid facing themselves.” When Haruki Murakami lingered in the moment “like all the drizzle in the world falling on all the lawns in the world”, he didn’t know “Where am I now?”

The extraordinarily dazzling lightning and the extraordinarily silent rain, only such metaphors can tell the biggest difference between Ryu Murakami and Haruki Murakami. "Approximately Infinite Transparent Blue" made me open my eyes wide to see the world around me, the darkness was diluted by "the blood-stained glass on the edge"; it taught us to prick up our ears to listen to the vibrato of the soul, but the soul is forever All are solitary hunters, silent.